Stephen Hillenburg (LX Cartoons)
Stephen McDanell Hillenburg (August 21, 1961 – November 26, 2018) was an American animator, voice actor, and marine science educator. He is best remembered for creating the Nickelodeon animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants which has become the fifth-longest-running American animated series, founding LX Cartoons who co-developed/produced the television series Lucas M Soares's Pingu and Friends and serving as co-CEO of LX Toon Animation and Netflix Born in Lawton, Oklahoma and raised in Anaheim, California, Hillenburg became fascinated with the ocean as a child and developed an interest in art. He started his professional career in 1984, instructing marine biology, at the Orange County Marine Institute, where he wrote The Intertidal Zone, an informative comic book about tide-pool animals, which he used to educate his students. In 1989, two years after leaving teaching, Hillenburg enrolled at the California Institute of the Arts to pursue a career in animation. He was later offered a job on the Nickelodeon animated television series Rocko's Modern Life (1993–1996) after his success with The Green Beret and Wormholes (both 1992), short films that he made while studying animation and and began working with Lucas M. Soares and Bloo J on Lucas M Soares's Pingu and Friends and other LX Toon Animation shows. Early Life and Education TBA Filmography Television * HiHi Puffy AmiYumi: Reloaded (Producer/Director) * Lucas M Soares's Pingu and Friends (Storyboarding) * SpongeBob SquarePants (Director/Producer) * TBA Theatrical: * The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (Director/Producer) * Lucas M Soares's Pingu and Friends: The Greatest Story Ever Told! * TBA Personal life TBA Ilness, Death and Legacy In the spring of 2017, Hillenburg's health began declining and was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)/Brain Cancer Hillenburg disclosed to Variety magazine in March 2017 that he had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a fatal neurodegenerative disease that results in the death of motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord. He released a statement to the publication, in which he said that he would continue to work on SpongeBob SquarePants "for as long as is able." He added: "My family and I are grateful for the outpouring of love and support. We ask that our sincere request for privacy be honored during this time." Hillenburg was in the early stages of the disease at the time, according to a source close to him TBA Likewise, the illness was successfully treated until it returned in October 2018, which ultimately caused his death by Heart failure due to complications of both ALS and Brain Cancer, A Clay reported that he "died peacefully at home surrounded by his family". After his death, Nickelodeon and The Bloo aired five minutes of silence to "reflect on the work Hillenburg has done for the animation industry". Fans worldwide mourned his death, with his casket being overrun with fanart and drawings of various cartoons he worked on such as South Park, Spongebob Squarepants, And Other Nicktoons, On December 3, 2018, Hillenburg's public memorial service was conducted in Los Angeles, California at McCarty Memorial Christian Church, His funeral was attended by thousands, both local and foreign, He was survived by his wife, his son His remains were berried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles, TBA The TV special SpongeBob's Big Birthday Blowout and The Movies The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run and Lucas M. Soares's Pingu and Friends: Reimagined! were dedicated to him in his memory TBA